[TowerTalk] Fwd: Insulated elements, Yes - No?

[K7LXC--- via TowerTalk]

>  This brings up a big question in my small mind.   Assuming you need to 
correct element length,  I can see you can use SWR to  adjust the driven 
element.  But how do you correctly know how to correct or  adjust the reflector, 
or for that matter any parasitic element?  During the  Dark Ages when I 
first got licensed, you just made the reflector around 10%  longer then the 
driven element.  How do you do it in 2014?  (I really  don't want to think of 
remote field strength measurements while adjusting the  parasitic element.)  
If you correct the driven element by 1 inch to lower  the SWR, do you then 
just adjust the reflector by the same 
 
    What you do is to feed the element just like dipole  and adjust it for 
the frequency of interest. This is easy to do with split  elements like the 
F12. Just leave the other elements open and tune each one. 
 
    I think F12 used something like 2.5-3% or so  instead of the 10% you 
mentioned. If the manufacturer doesn't give you the  element resonance, you 
could model it for your requirements. 
 
    With non-split elements, I'm not sure how you'd do  them.
 
Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH